^^i^' 



MM 



■w^Hii 









> 


'^S~%~^^ 


> 


^5ii"^'i2)">fcr 


:^ 


ri^jiTj) ^^ 


1 


►^5*'l) '^ 


> 
:> 


.1^^^^ 


L^^ j>> 


> 


J^>3>5 


;^-$-^^ 


'^-^ ->!>■ 


3 


-^->.33- 




%?»3j>^ 


z* 


' :3>-i2> ^^" 















5 .:Z>S:) ^ZSK?" 



^3:131^ 



■:^^^S ;^S^^ 






;?^^ 



3 XT 






^c»^Si 



^3 



3>3> ^- 



I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 



f # 

^UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.^ 



3>> ~ 
3» 

I>~^ 1>3» 3->s> 



smk-^- 



'35>r 












'^^ 2> 



iX»3^ - 



^3B> >Jk^ ,->,55))- 



.:3 :^c 
^>^ 5>a3> z»:^> 3 2> 



3>1> T 

3>:3> ^ 



:ssr 









J >.^j»_Zj>^1^>>- 



.::>2s> 
:>> J 






1> >^ 


















^ '5 

i> f- 
1> J' 






> 2 






. li> IX. 



.Z> 15> 



3-SSS3 

:2> T> 3^ ^^^^ 

'1>^">>> >^^ Og> i>'i» 
^^ >^ -^^ 



:::g>i>5ifci 



^^n 

^m^^ 



-^3l> :> ^ 













THE 







AN AOOOUNT OF THE OELEBRATION, 



BY THE 



MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



COUNCIL AND TREATY OF CAPT. JONATHAN CARVER WITH ; 

THE NAUDOWESSIES, ON MAY 1, 1707, AT THE " GREAT ; 

CAVE," [NOW WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE | 

CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA.] ; 

i 



HKI^D IVTA^' 1, ISOr. 




SAINT PAUL: 
T I o N R R i; r i; I X T I N (; c o m r \ x y 

18r,7. 





CAPT. JONATHAN CARVER. 



[KUOM A STKKL rORTRAlT IN T.IK THIRD BD.TION OF HIS TRAVKLS]. 



THE 







>^ 



't m^ K^ m.m?>i 






AN AOOOUNT OF THE CELEBRATION, 



r,Y THE 



/' 



MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



COUNCIL AND TREATY OF CAPT. JONATHAN CARVEU WITH 

THE NAUDOWESSIES, ON MAY 1, 1707, AT THE " GREAT 

CAVE," [NOW WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE 

CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA] 



HKI^D 3VtAY 1, 1867. 



SAINT PAUL: 

P I O N E E K PRINTING C M 1' A N Y . 
1867. 



V- ■.■-». 






TWO PIUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES ORDERED PRINTED 
BY THE SOCIETY. 



PKEFACE. 

1 1 luiviiii;' been resolved liv tlie meml)ei',s of Llu' M iiiiiesot;i, I.lislori- 
c;il Society, to ee]el)rate llio Centenary of Capt. Jonathan Carver's 
Treaty with tlie ^amlowessies, in an approjn'iate manner, the fol- 
lowing invitation was issued by the Secrotar}' : 

May 1, 1767. May 1, 1S67. 

[Portrait.] 

THE CARVER CENTENARY. 



St. Pai'i., April cO, 1S67. 
Yoii .ire invited to .join with the Min.nksota Historicai, Society in celebrating the 
Onk Hundrkdth Anniveksauy 
of Capt. Jon.athan Carver's Council with the Indians in the " Great Cave " (now called Carver'.s 
Cave,) within the present limits of this city, on Wednesday, May 1, 1867. 

The members will visit the cave at 4 o'clock p. m. At 8 o'clock p. m. a reunion will W lield at 
the rooms of the Society, when a paper on Jonathan Carver will be read by Rev. John Mattocks 
anil other appropriate exercises take ])laee. 

By order of the Execu'ive Council. 

H. H. SlULEY, President. 
J. F. William.-;, Secretary. 



PART I. 

THE VISIT TO THE CAVE. 

In response to the foregoing invitation, and to notices of the Cen- 
tenary celebration published in the daily journals, a ninnber of the 
members of the Society asscm])led at the rooms at 4 o'clock p. m., 
Wednesday, May 1, 1867, in order to proceed to the cave in a body. 
Messrs. (k)ok & Webb, of the " Third'Street Livery Stable," kindly 
furnished a four-horse omnibus for such as had not conveyances of their 
own, wliile a number proceeded to the spot on foot. Notwithstana- 
ing the weather was unseasonably inclement, the X'''>'i''^y enjoyed 
themselves finely. Jest, pun and repartee continually set the grouj) 
in a roar. 

Arriving at the Brewery, the party alighted, and accompanied l)y 
the rest of the pilgrims to the Slirine of Carver, who met us here, 
proceeded on foot down the bank of the river to the cave. Its en- 
trance was soon reached, and after lighting their lanterns and candles, 
tlie party entered the sacred precincts of the Wakan-Tcehc, 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CAVE. 

Carver's description of the cave, made carelessly a century ago, is 
yet a fair picture of it. He says it is " a remarkahle cave, of an 
amazing depth. The Indians term it WaJian-Teche tliat is, the 
dwelling of the Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about ten feet 
wide, the height of it five feet. The arch within is near fifteen feet 
high, and aljout thirty feet broad. The bottom of it consists of fine, 
clear sand. About twenty feet from the entrance begins a lake, the 
water of which is transparent, and extends an unsearchable distance. 
I threw a small pebble towards tlie interior parts of it with my 
utmost strength. I could hear that it fell into the water, and caused 
an astonishing and horrible noise that reverberated through all those 
gloomy regions. I found in the cave many Indian hieroglyphics, 
which appeared very ancient. They were cut in a rude manner upon 
the inside of the walls, which were composed of a stone so extremely 
soft that it might be easily penetrated with a knife, a stone every- 



THE CAKVEK CENTENARY. 5 

wlierc to l)e founil near tlio Missis.si])[ii. The cave i8 only accessible 
by asceudiiii;- ii narrow, steep passage that lies near the ])rink of the 
river," &c. 

In the main, the above description is yot a faithful one. 

The entrance to the cave, broad as it is, is now almost choked up 
by detritus from the blulf above, partly composed of masses of sand- 
stone crnnil)led off by the frost, and partly of rubbish which the 
workmen in a stone quarry at the top of the blulf have thrown over. 
Still there is an easy and safe entrance in the upper corner of the 
mouth, along the bottom of whicli passage-way flows a stream of 
s[>arkling, pure water. The track of the Winona and Saint Paul 
Railway is graded along the bank of the river, a few feet in front 
of, and slightly lower than the mouth of the cave. Carver says that 
the cave was, at the time of his visit, " only accessible by ascendimg 
a narrow, steep passage that lies near the brink of the river.'' This 
was doubtless the case then, but the frosts and floods afterwards 
crumbled down the bank in front of it, so that the mouth of the cave 
can easily be seen from the river. 

After entering the doorway of the cave, the ceiling suddenly ex- 
pands, and rises to a dome of considerable height. Twenty-eight 
feet from the entrance (" about twenty," as Carver estimates it) 
'' begins a lake, " &c. Towards the mouth side it has a beautiful beach 
of white sand. From this side, the water gradually deepens towards 
the rear end of the cavern, until, at the farthest extremity, it is ten 
feet or more in depth, and so clear that a person sitting in one end of 
the boat may see the bottom by the light of a candle held over the 
other end. On all the sides of this lake (excepting the opening) the 
walls rise perpendicularly. They are stained with water to a height 
about five feet above the present waterline, showing that the lake 
must have risen to that height when the entrance was choked up as 
it was when Pike visited it in 1806. 

At the outer edge of the lake the height of the roof, or inner side 
of the doorway arch, is about five feet, and the width about 40 feet. 
It soon grows a little wider, and the roof expands into a capacious 
dome. Its apex, as near as we could judge from the flickering lights, 
must be some 20 feet above the water. The wddest part of the cave 
is about 50 feet from the landing, after which it gradually narrows 
to the end of the cave. It is everywhere high enough to permit 



6 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

free movement of the boat without incommodmg the occupant. Tlie 
roof and walls are of the white sandstone, dry, aiid handsomely 
arched. 

" Indian hieroglyphics," or pictographs, as mentioned by Carver, 
are still to be found on the walls, but whether the same ones that 
adorned the Wakan-Teebe when Jonathan visited it, or not, is diffi- 
cult to say. A rude representation of a serpent, some three feet in 
length, is tlie most prominent sculpture on the walls. It is stren- 
uously asserted by many antiquarians to be the seal, or family coat of 
arms of Otoh-ton-goomlish-cmv, wlaose signature to the great deed was 
a representation of a snake. Others say it is not Indian, but evidently 
the work of a white man. If so, it must have been done a long time 
ago, as our oldest settlers say it was there when tliey first visited the 
cave. 

The distance from the edge of the water to the extreme end of 
the cave, is about 112 feet. Long (in his "Journal of a Skiff Voyage," 
published by the Minnesota Historical Society in i860,) says that 
" the distance from its entrance to its inner extremity is 24 paces," 
but adds, " the cavern was once probably much more extensive." 

From the entrance of the cave, the extreme end would not be vis- 
ible, as it bends considerably to the left. About half way up the 
cave, on the west side, is seen a small low grotto. Through this 
low opening there is a connection with Dayton's Cave,* a few hun- 
dred feet up the river, and water flows from one into the otlier. 

The temperature of the cave is about 50°, at which figure it re- 
mains summer and winter, irrespective of the external heat or cold, 
scarcely' changing a degree. 



* " Dayton's Cave," is strictly not a cave at .all. It is a hollow space under a large shelvin.o; 
rock. It has been walled up in front, and was used for many years as a vegetable cellar. Lat- 
terly it ha.s been used as a bottling vault for ale and ginger pop. At the rear of the cave i.s a 
pool of clear cold water, like that in Carver's Cave, bat much smaller. This fact has probably 
caused Dayton's Cave to be mistaken as the real Carver's Cave. Miss Bishop, in her "-Floral 
Homes,'" (page 25) and Neill, in his " History of Minnesota," (page 208) fall into this error. 



THE CAItVKU CKNTKNARV. 7 

THE PROCEEDINGS AT THE CAVE. 

TliPre were no formal ceremonies williiii the cave. As soon as 
tlio party coukl light, their torches, the cav(> was thoroughly explored. 
A small boat was fonml moored to the shore, capable of holding a 
couple of persons at a time, and the visitors, two at a lime, embarked, 
and paddled up the cavern, one rowing, ami the other holding a lan- 
tern at tlu' ])ow lor a head light. 

When at the extreme rear end of the cavern, one of the part\- 
sang a song, the echoes of which were remarkable. We could well 
conceive how the pebljle thrown by Carver " caused an astonishing 
and horrible noise that reverberated through all those gloomy regions ' 

Tlie dashing of the lights held by the party, and their reflected 
gleam in the clear water of the pool — the ghostdike appearance of 
the visitors as they moved about bearing their lights above their 
heads — made a weird scene quite in character with the sacredness of 
the spot, Avhile the hollow echoes of the song and laughter, and loud 
voices of the party, seemed to profane the awful mysteries of this 
" Dwelling of the Great Spirit." We almost expected to see the 
sjiirits of Carver, and Ilcnv-no-paio-ijat-an, and Otoh-ton-goom-lislh-eaw, 
and their compeers, the makers of the deed and treaty on that grand 
council day a hundred years ago, start from the dark walls of the 
cave, and reprove us for our levity and ill-timed merriment and rude 
noise But those worthies were by no means forgotten on our cen- 
tenary visit. A toast to the memory of the adventurous Carver 
was drunk by each visitor present, in a bumper of that same cold, 
clear, refreshing water that Carver and his fellow councilors drank 
on that bright May day morning a hundred years ago. Our imagin- 
ations almost pictured Carver seated in the cave, with his dusky 
friends around him, making the speech which he records, or drawing 
up and explaining to the Indians the famous deed to which they af- 
tlxtd their marks. And as we quafled the pellucid liquid our thoughts 
leaped across the eventful century that has passed since then — a cen- 
t ury more crowded with great events than any that has preceded it — 
that gave birth to our great nation, and saw it rise to an acme of 
])0wer and greatness scarce surpassed in the history of the world. 
We thought too, of the future, of the mighty changes that another 
hundred years must produce. 



8 THE CARVER CEisTTENARY. 

A century ago, the "Wakan-Teebe and the rude Indian huts. To- 
day, around the same spot, are the homes of 20,000 people, the spires 
of other temples more fit for " the dwelling of the Great Spirit," the 
institutions of a higher civilization than the Navxdowessics knew of. 

A century hence, when our descendants, and our successors in the 
Historical Society celebrate the Carver Bi-Centenary, what changes 
will they too, witness ? We can scarce imagine them ! Who will be 
celebrating this anniversary then, and how ? Who will fill our 
places then ? 

Who'll press for gold 3-011 crowded street, 

A hundred years to come ? 
Who'll tread our paths with weary feet, 

A hundred years to come '? 
Pale trembling age, and fiery youth, 
And childhood with its heart of truth. 
The rich, the poor, on land and sea — 
Where Will the mighty millions be, 

A hundred years to come ? 
Then other men our lands will till 
And others then our places fill. 
While other hearts will beat as gay, 
And bright the sunshine as to daj% 

A hundred years to come- 

As Ave emerged from the cave, awed into silence by these impres- 
sive thoughts, the noble steamer Itasca passed up the river, her deep- 
toned whistle, heralding her approach to the city, waking the echoes 
of the bluffs and vales. The scream and roar of a locomotive near 
by answered her signal. How this would have startled Carver and 
his dusky companions if they had come unheralded at their council on 
that historic day a century ago I Even Carver's prophetic soul, 
which predicted the overland route for the northwest passage, and 
saw with the eye of faith "mighty kingdoms emerge from the wilder- 
ness, and stately palaces and solemn temples, with gilded spires reach- 
ing the skies, supplant the Indian huts whose only decorations are 
the barbarous trophies of their vanquished enemies," had not fore- 
seen the car, and steamer, and telegraph traversing the wilderness, 
the mightiest agencies in the work of making it blossom as the rose. 

Reluctantly we terminated our centenary visit, to meet again at 
the cave, in the persons of our descendants and successors, on May 1, 
19G7, hoping that those who celel)rate that day may enjoy the event 
as much as we did the First Centennial Meeting in Carver's Cave. 



TIlK CAHVEH CKKTENAHV. 



PART II. 

THE RE-UNION TN THE EVENING. 

The members of the Historical Society assembled at S o'clock iu 
the evening at the rooms of the society, to jiarticipato in the Iviterary 
Exercises of the Centenary Celebralinii There Avas an unusually 
full attendance of members, together with a ninnber of invited guests. 

In the absence of the President, Rev. S. Y. ^IcMasters was called 
to the chair. 

Rev. John Mattocks then read a papier on ■■ The Life and Travels 
of Jonathan Carver," which was listened to Avith great interest by 
the members present. At its conclusion, on motion of Hon. A. 
Goodrich, a copiv of the paper was re([uested for the use of the So- 
ciety. 

Some time was then spent in discussing the subject of Carver's 
explorations, and the incidents of the visit to the cave in the after- 
noon. 

Col. Wm. H. Nobles then, by invitation of the Society, read a 
paper on " The Ancient Indian Mounds and Fortifications of the 
North West." On motion, a copy of the same was rei|uestcd for pres- 
ervation in the archives of the society. 

Regret having been expressed by some of the members present 
that the funds of the Society would not warrant the outlay necessary 
to print in pamphlet form an account of the Centenary proceedings, 
Geo. "W. Fahm^stock, Es(|., of Philadelphia, an Honorarv Member of 
the Soeietv, who was present, generously offered to bt-ar the expense 
of such publication, should the Society see fit to order the same. * 

On motion of Rev. John Mattocks, it was 

Resolved, That the very generous and liberal olfer of Mr. Falinestock be 
accepted, and that the thanks of the Society be tendered to him for tlie 
same. And the Secretary is hereby instructed to prepare an account of 
the celebration, and secure its publication in pamphlet form. 

On motion, adjourned. 

.1. F. WILLIAMS, Sec. 



* It is but (iiio to Mr. Fahnostork to st.ite thiit the ceNbration of tlic Anniversary w.as first 
suggested by him, and after it was residved on by the Society, its success was in a ureat measure 
owing to the intcreKt he took in it, and his efTorts to render it interesting and creditable. 

J. K. w. 



10 Tllte CARVER CENTENARY. 



THE LIFE AND EXPLORATIONS OF JONATHAN CARVER. 

I5Y REV. JOHN MATTOCKS. 

We are met this evening to celebrate, in an appropriate manner, 
an event of no ordinary interest, an event which occurred a century 
a2;o, a date anterior even to the l)irtli of our nation, and fully half a 
century prior to the settlement of this State by white men. This is 
the first time, since the organization of our Society, that we have 
been called on to celebrate the anniversary of any event connected 
with the early history of Minnesota, and the spirit with which the 
members have enlisted in this matter shows that it is regarded as an 
event of more than ordinary interest. 

It is peculiarly appropriate that this Society should have commem- 
orated that event. We are organized to collect, and preserve, and 
disseminate a knoAvledge of the early history of our State and the 
North West. Our State is so young, that it has but little history 
since its settlement by white men. One of the principal portions of 
our work, therefore, is to preserve the records of its early explorers. 
Hennepin, Perrot. Duluth, St. Pierre and LeSueur, have all been 
made familiar to the readers of our puldirations. But Jonathan 
Carver, who deserves a place as prominent as any, has never l)een so 
honored. Indeed, it is remarkable how little, generally, is known of 
Carver. Tliis may be accounted for, however, from the fact that 
copies of his work are very rare. 

I have, therefore, in the paper on the Life and Travels of Jonatlian 
Carver, which at your request T now read, given more full extracts 
from Carver's works than might otherwise have been necessary, in 
order to reproduce the text of the original, and also allow Carver to 
tell his own story, which he does in a clear, entertaining and vivid 
manner. I might mention here that Carver is one of the most en- 
tertaining of writers. His style is easy, plain and forcible. His 
work possesses almost the interest of a romance. Yet, although 
many of Carver's statements have been discredited. Carver was no 
romancer. Every page bears the impress of truth and candor. Al- 
though somevrhat familiar with the contents of his work years ago. 



THE CARVER CENTENARY. 11 

yet wlieu I read it critically in preparing this paper, T was singn- 
larly struck with the remarkable prophecies he makes, and his 
sagacious views in regard to tlie future of tlie wilderness he traversed. 
Viewed in the light of a century later, tliere arc sonic really re- 
markable passages in liis work, stamping him as a man of no ordi- 
nary mind and sagacity. That he was an acute and close observer, 
an industrious student of ethnology, and a careful discriminating- 
journalist, his chapters on the Indian races, and the natural history 
of the North West, must prove to even the casual reader. But I 
must pass without farther preface to the subject of thie paper. 

[In presenting the facts of the life and explorations of Mr. Carver, 
I am wholly indebted to J. Fletcher Williams, Esq., our indefatigable 
and devoted Secretary, for selection, compilation and arrangement. 
The larger portion is found iu an article prepared by him a year since, 
for the St. Paul Pioneer.] 

MEMOIR OF CARVER. 

Jonathan Carver was a grandson of William Joseph Carver, of 
Wigan, in Lancashire, England, who was a captain in the armv 
under King William, and served in the campaign against Ireland 
with such distinguished reputation, that the prince was pleased to 
reward him with the government of the Colony of Connecticut, in 
New England. Jonathan was born in 1732, at Stillwater (or Can- 
terbury,) Conn His father, who was a Justice of the Peace, died 
when he was 15 years of age. It was designed to educate him for 
a physician, but his spirit of enterprise and adventure could not brook 
the close study necessary to acquire the profession, and he chose the 
army instead. He therefore purchased an ensigncy in a Connecticut 
regiment, and soon, by good conduct, rose to the command of a com- 
pany during the " French War." In the year 1757, he was present at 
the massacre of Fort William Henry, and narrowly escapi^d with his 
life. 

carver's object in making the .JOURNEY. 

Having served through tlie war with credit and distinction, the 
peace of Versailles, in 17()3, left Capt. Carver without occupation. 
It was then that Carver conceived the project of exjiloring the new- 
ly acquired possessions of Great Britain in the North West. In the 
preface to his book he says ; 



12 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

No sooner was the late war with France concluded, and peace establish- • 
ed by tlie Treaty of Versailles in tlie year 1768, than I began to consider 
( having rendered my country some service during the war) how I might 
continue still serviceable, and continue, as much as lay in my power, to make 
tliat vast acquisition of territory, gained by Great Britain, in North 
America, advantageous to it. It appeared to me indispensably needful, 
that Government should be acquainted in the first i)lace with the true state 
of tlie dominions they were now become possessed of To this purpose 
I determined, as the next proof of my zeal, to explore the most unknown 
]:)arts of them, and to spare no trouble or expense in acquiring a knowledge 
tliat promised to be so useful to my countrymen. I knew that many ob- 
structions would arise to my scheme from the want of good maps and 
charts. * * * These difficulties, however, were not suflicient to deter 
me from tlie undertaking, and I made preparations for setting out. What 
I chiefly had in view, after gaining a Ivuowledge of the Manners, Customs, 
lianguages. Soil, and Productions of the different nations that inhabit the 
l)a(k of tlie Mississippi, was to ascertain the breadth of that vast Conti- 
nent, which extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, in the broadest 
part l)etween 43 and 46 degrees Northern Latitude. Had I been able to 
accomplish this, I intended to have proposed to Government to establish a 
post in some of those parts about the Straits of Annian, which having 
been first discovered by Sir Francis Drake, of course belong to the English. 
This, I am convinced, would greatly facilitate the discovery of a North 
West passage, or a communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific 
Ocean, an event so desirable, and which has been so often sought for, but 
witliout success. Besides this important end, a settlement on that terri- 
tory of America would answer many good purposes, and repaj' every ex- 
pense the establishment of it might occasion. For it would not only dis- 
close new sources of trade, and promote many useful discoveries, but 
would open a passage for conveying intelligence to China, and English 
Settlements in the East Indies, with greater expedition than a tedious 
voyage by the Cape of Good Hope, or the Straits of Magellan will allow 
of. That the completion of the scheme I have had the honor of first plan- 
ning and attempting will sometime or other be efiected, I make no doubt. 
Whenever it is, and the execution of it carried on with propriety, those 
who are so fortunate as to succeed will reap, exclusive of the national ad- 
vantages tliat must ensue, emoluments beyond their most sanguine expec- 
tations, and whilst their spirits are elated bj^ their success, perhaps they 
may bestow some commendation and blessings on the person that first 
jiointed out to them the way. 

HE SETS OUT ON HIS TRAVELS. 

Carver set out on his journey from Boston, in June, 1766. He 
proceeded to Mackinaw, then tlie most distant British post, arriving 
in August. 

" Having liere (he says) made the necessarv dispositions for jmrsu- 
ing my travels, and obtained a credit from Mr. Rogers, the Governor, 
on some English and Canadian traders who were going to trade on the 
Mississippi, and received also from him a promise of a fresh supply of 
goods when I reached the Falls of St. Anthony, I left tlie Fort on 
the 3d of Sept., m company with these traders. It was agreed that 



THE CAHVKK CENTENARY. 13 

they sliould rurnisii me with such goods as I mi;;ht w;int for presents 
to llie Indian Chiefs during my continuance witli tlieni, agreeal)h! to 
the Governors order" 

Carver pursued tiu; usual route to Green Bay, ascended tlie Vox 
River, made the Portag(> to tlie Wisconsin and descending that 
stn-ain, entered the Mississippi on October 15. Tlie traders who 
were with liini left him at J'rairie du Cliieii, opposite to wliicli village 
at " Yellow River," they took up their ((uarters. Carver here 
" bought a canoe, and with two servants, one a French Canadian, 
and the other a Mohawk of Canada," started up the Mississippi 
River. 

HIS VOYAGE UP THE MISSISSIPPI. 

Some miles below Lake Pepin, Carver writes, he found a remark- 
able fortilication, which he thought to be very ancient. It was 
planned and constructed with considerable engineering ability. On 
the first of November he arrived at Lake Pepin. This lake he ilc- 
scribes at some length, in language florid and poetical — yet his gen- 
eral description of that truly lovely sheet of water is correct and 
faithful, lie observcil in one place, he writes — " the ruins of a French 
factory, where it is said Capt. St. Pierre resided, and carried on a 
very great trade with the Naudowessies before the reduction of 
Canada." 

CARVER EXPLORES THE CAVE AT ST. PAUL. 

We have now followed Carver on his journev until he reaches the 

Cave to which we paid a visit to-day. lie thus speaks of it in his 

work : 

About thirty miles below the Falls of Saint Anthony, at which I arrived 
the tenth day after I left Lake Pepin, is a remarkable cave, of an amazing 
depth. The Indians term it WakanTeebe, that is, the dwelling of the 
Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about ten feet wide, the height of it 
live feet. The arch within is near fifteen feet high, and about thirty feet 
broad. The bottoni of it consists of tine clear sand. About twenty feet 
from the entrance begins a lake, the water of which is transparent, and 
extends to an unsearchable distance ; for the darkness of the cave prevents 
all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it. I threw a small pebble towards 
the interior parts of it with my utmost strength : I could hear that it fell 
into the water, and notwithstanding it was of so small a size, it caused an 
astonishing and horrible noise, thatreverberated through all those gloomy 
regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyi)hies, which api)eared 
very ancient, fcjr time had nearly covered them with moss, so that it was 
with difficulty I could trace thc;m. They were cut in a rude manner upon the 



14 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

inside of the walls, which were composed of a stone so extremely soft that 
it might be easily penetrated with a knife ; a stone everywhere to be found 
near the Mississippi. The cave is only accessible by ascending a narrow 
steep passage that lies near the brink ot the river. 

At a little distance from this dreary cavern, is the burying place of sev 
eral bauds of the Naudowessie Indians : though these people have no fixed 
residence, living in tents, and abiding but a few months on one sjjot, yet 
they always bring the bones of tlieir dead to this place ; which they take 
the opportunity of doing, when the chiefs meet to hold their councils, and 
to settle all public afiairs for the ensuing summer. 

This was Carver's first visit to tlie now celebrated Cave. After 
leaving it he proceeded on to St. Anthony's Falls, wMch he minutely 
describes in his volume of travels, accompanying it by a copperplate 
engraving from a drawing made by himself on November 17, 1766. 
He afterwards took a short trip up the Mississippi River as far as 
the " St. Francis River," beyond which point, he says, it had never 
been explored, and thus far only by Father Hennepin and himself. 

HE PROPOSES A SHIP CANAL FROM THE RIVER TO THE LAKES. 

Carver here makes a somewhat remarkable suggestion in favor 

of a ship canal, connecting the Mississippi with the Lakes. He says: 

As this river is not navigable from the sea for vessels of any considerable 
burthen, much higher than the forks of the Ohio — and even that isaccom- 
])]ished with difficulty — those settlements that may be made on the interior 
branches of it, must l)e indisputably secure from the attacks of any mara 
time power. But at the same time the settlers will have the advantage of 
being able to convey their produce to the seaports with great facility, the 
current of the river from its source to its entrance into the Gulf of 
Mexico, being extremely favorable for doing tiiis in a small craft. Tliis 
might also, in time, be facilitated by canals or sliorter cuts, and a commu- 
nication opened by water with New York, Canada, &c., by way of the 
lakes. 

This project of a slap canal from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan 
has by no means been abandoned, but is still agitated actively and 
may be yet accomplished. Carver did not however, foresee the in- 
troduction of railroads, which had proved a more valuable channel 
for commerce than Carver's canal and his projected overland routti 
to the Indies. 

HIS JOURNEY UP THE ST. PETER RIVER. 

On the 25th of November Carver returned to his canoe, which he 
" had left at the mouth of the River St. Pierre " [Minnesota] and 
ascended that stream. About 40 miles from its mouth he says he 
"arrived at a small branch that fell into it from the north," to which 
as it had no name that he could distinguish it by, he called " Carver's 
River," which name it bears to this day. 



TilR CARVER CKNTKNARV. l5 

HE WINTERS AMONG TDE NAUDOWESSIES. 

On the 7tli of DeccnilxT he arrived at the most westerly limit of 
Ills travels, ami as ho could proceed no farther that season, spent the 
winter, a period of seven months, among a hand of Naudowessies 
encamped near what is now New Ulm. lie says he learned their 
language so as to converse in it intelligihly, and was treated by them 
with great hospitality. In the spring, he returned to tlieeave. His 
account nf this is as follows : 

THE RETURN TO THE GREAT CAVE. 

I left the hahitations of those hospitable Indians the latter end of April, 
17(57, but did not part from tliem for several days, as I was accompaniocl 
on my journey by neai' throe hundred of them, among wiiom were many 
chiefs, to tlio mouth of the River Saint Pierre. At this S(>:ison those bauds 
annually no to the great cave before mentioned, to hold a grand council 
with all tiie other bands, wherein they settle their ojierations for the en- 
suing year. At the same time they carrj' with them their dead for inter- 
ment, bound up in butialo skins. 

It was on this visit to die cave that Carver made the alleged 

Treaty with the Indians, and received from tliem the celebrated deed 

of land. Ilis account of it is as follows : 

When we arrived at the Great Cave, and the Indians had deposited the 
remains of their deceased friends in the burial-place that stands adjacent 
to it, they hold their great council, into which I was admitted and at tlie 
same time had the honor to be installed and adopted a chief of their bands. 
On this occasion I made the following speech which was delivered on the 
first day of May, 1767 : 

carver's SPEECH TO THE INDIANS 

" My Brothers, Chiefs of the numerous and powerrul Naudowessies ! 
I rejoice that through mj^ long abode with you, I can now speak to you 
(though after an imperfect manner) in your own tongue, like one of your 
own cliildren. I rejoice also that I have had an opportunity so frequently 
to inform you of the glory and power of the Great King that reigns over 
the English and other nations; who is descended from a very ancient race 
of sovereigns, as old as the earth and the waters ; whose foot stand upon 
two great islands, larger than any you have ever seen, amidst the greatest 
waters in the world, whose bead reaches to the sun, and whose arms en 
circle the whole eartli ; the number of whose warriors is ecpial to the 
trees in the valleys, the stalks of rice in yonder marshes, and the blades of 
grass on your great plains, who has hundreds of canoes of Ids own, of such 
amazing bigness, that all the waters in your country would not suflice for 
one of them to swim in, each of which have great guns, not small like 
mine, which you see before you, but of such magnitude, that a hundred of 
your stoutest young men would with difficulty be able to carry one. And 
they are eciually surprizing in their operation against the King's enemies 
when engiiged in l)attlo ; the terror they cnrry with them, your language 
lucks words to express. You maj' remember the other day when we were 
encamped at Wadapaw-menesoter, the black clouds, the wind, tlie fire, 



16 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

the stupendous noise, the horrible cracks, and the tumbling of the earth 
which then alarmed you, and gave you reason to think your gods were 
angry with you ; not unlike these are the warlike implements of the Eng- 
lish when they are fighting the battles of their great King. 

Several of the chiefs of your bands have often told me in times past, 
when I dwelt with you in your tents, that they much wished to be counted 
among tlie children and the allies of the great King, my master. 

You may remember how often you have desired me, when I return again 
to my own country, to acquaint the great King of your good disposition 
towards him and his subjects, and that you wished for traders from the Eng- 
lish to come among you. 

Being now about to take my leave of you, and to return to my own 
country, a long way toward the rising sun, I again ask you to tell me 
whether you continue of the same mind as when I spoke to you in council 
last winter; and as there are now several of your cliiefs here who came 
from the great plains toward the setting of the sun, whom I have never 
spoken with in council before, I ask you to let me know if you are willing 
to acknowledge yourselves the children of my great master, the King of 
the English. 

I charge you not to give heed to bad reports, for there are wicked birds 
flying about among the neighboring nations who may whisper evil things 
in your ears against the English, contrar}^ to what I have told you ; you 
must not believe them, for I have told 3'ou the truth. 

As for the Chiefs that are about to go to Michilimackinac, I shall take 
care to make for them and their suits a straight road, smooth waters, and 
a clear sky, that they may go there and smoke the pipe of peace, and rest 
secure on a beaver blanket under the shade of the great tree of peace. 
Farewell !" 

Whether any such grandiloquent speech as tlie above was really 
made by Carver on the occasion or not, has frequently l)een doubted. 
It is probable, however, that he made tliem a short address, in such 
broken Dakota as he could command. 

" To this speech [he continues] I received the following answer, 
from the mouth of the principal Chief :" 

THE REPLY. 

Good brother ! I am now about to speak to j^ou with the mouths of 
these my brothers, chiefs of the eight bands of the powerful nation of the 
Naudowessies. We believe, and are well satisfied in the trutli of every- 
thing you have told us about your great nation, and the great King our 
greatest fixther ; for whom we spread this beaver blanket, that his fatherly 
protection may ever rest easy and safe amongst us, his children ; j'our col- 
ors and your arms agree with the accounts you have given us about your 
great nation. We desire that when you return, you will acquaint the great 
King how much the Naudowessies wish to be counted among his good 
children. You may believe us when we tell you that we will not open 
our ears to any one who may dare to speak evil of our Great Father the 
King of the English and other nations. 

We thank you for what you have done for us in making peace between 
the Naudowessies and the Chippewas, and hope when j'ou return to us 
again, that you will complete this good work ; and quite dispelling the 
clouds that intervene, open the blue sky of peace, and cause the bloody 
hatcliet to be deep buried under the roots of the great tree of peace. 



TliK OAIIVEH OENTENAilY. ]f 

Wc wish you to reineinber to represent, to our Oreat Fiilher liow uiucli 
we desire that traders may he sent to uhiih; anioni;- us, witli such thin!:;s as 
we need, that the hearts of our young men, our wives, and children may 
be nuide ghul. And may peace subsist between us, so h)ng as tlie sun, th(! 
moon, the earth, and the waters shall endure. Farewell ! 

THE PURPORTED DEED. 

At this council was given tlio famous deed of land to Carver, wliii;!i 

reads as follows : 

To Jonathan Carver, a Chief under the most miijjhty and potent (ieorge 
the Third, King of the English, and other nations, the fame of whose war- 
riors has reached our cars, and has been now fully told to us by miv t/o< id 
brother JonatJmn, aforesaid, whom we rejoice to sec come among us, and 
bring us good news from his countrj'. 

We, Chiefs of the Naudowessies, who have hereto set our seals, do by 
these presents, for ourselv(!s and heirs forever, in rc'turn for the many 
presents anii other good services done by the said Jonathan to ourselves 
and allies, give, grant and convey to him, the said Jonathan, and to his 
heirs and assigns forever, the whole of a certain tract or territory of land, 
bounded as follows, viz.; From the Falls of St. Anthony, running on the 
East bank of the Mississippi, nearly Southeast, as far as the South end of 
Lake Pepin, where the Chippewa river joins the Mississippi, and from 
thence Eastward, five days travel, accounting twenty Englisli miles per 
day, and Irom thence North six days travel, at twenty English miles per 
day, and from thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, on a direct straight 
line. We do, for ourselves, heirs, and assigns, forever, give unto the said 
Jonathan, his heirs and assigns forever, all the said lands, with all the trees, 
rocks, and rivers therein, reserving the sole liberty of hunting and fishing 
on land not planted or improved by the said Jonathan, his heirs and 
assigns, to which we have affixed our respective seals. 
At the Great Cave, 

May 1st, one thousand seven hundred and sixty -seven. 

HAW-NO-PAW-GAT AN, his y, mark, 
(picture of a Beaver.) 
OTOH-TON GOOM-LISH-EAW, his ^ mark, 

(picture of a snake.) 

It is a somewhat singular fact that Carver nowhere mentions tliis 
deed in his writings. Why its existence was suppressed by him, can 
only be conjectured. It seems not to have been made public until 
after his death. John Coaklej Lettsom, who wrote the biography 
of Carver for the third edition of his travels, says he had the original 
deed in his possession. We will farther trace the history of this 
deed, after concluding our account of Carver. 

HE RETURNS HOME. 
Whilst he tarried at the mouth of the River St. Pierre [he says] 
he endeavored to learn whether the goods which tlie governor at 
Michillimacinac had promised to forward him, had arrived. Learn- 
3 



18 TIliG CARVER CENTENARY. 

ing they had not, he was obliged to abandon all hopes of proceeding 
farther westward, and returned to Prairie du Chien. 

Here procuring a small supply of goods, he proceeded to Lake 
Superior, and spent some time in exploring that region, returning to 
Boston by way of Sault St. Marie, Detroit, and Niagara Falls. He 
arrived in Boston in October, 1768, " having been absent from it on 
this expedition two years and five months, and during that time 
travelled near 7000 miles." 

carver's subsequent history. 

Carver soon after sailed for England. Of his purposes and move- 
ments there, we will let him be his own historian : 

On my arrival in England, I presented a petition to his Majesty in coun- 
cil praying for a reimbursement of those sums I had expended in the service 
of the Government. This was referred to the Lords Commissioners of 
Trade and Plantations. Their Lordships, from the tenor of it, thought 
the intelligence I could give of so much importance to the nation that they 
ordered me to appear before the Board. 'I'his message I obeyed, and un- 
derwent a long examination, much, I believe, to the satisfaction of every 
Lord present. When it was finished, I requested to know what I should 
tlo Avith my papers. Without hesitation, the first Lord replied, that I might 
publish them whenever I pleased. 

In consequence of this permission, I disposed of them to a bookseller ; 
but when they were nearly ready for the press, an order was issued from 
the council board, requiring me to deliver, without delay, into the Planta- 
tion Office, all my Charts and .Journals, with every paper relative to the 
discoveries I had made. In order to obey the command, I was obliged to 
repurchase them from the bookseller, at a very great expense, and deliver 
them up. This fresh disbursement I endeavored to get annexed to the 
account I hiid already delivered in, but the request was denied me, not- 
withstanding I had only acted in the disposal of my papers, conformably 
to the permission I had received from the Board of Trade. .This loss, 
which amounted to a very considerable sum, I was obliged to bear, and to 
rest satisfied with an indemnification for my other expenses. 

Having expended all his private fortune in his explorations and 

other expenses. Carver was compelled to make a new abstract of 

his Journals (which fortunately he had preserved) and publish them, 

in order to reimburse himself. * It is hardly possible that he realised 

much money from his book, as we hear of him a few months after 

this, in very indigent circumstances. His health also declined. In 

1779, he secured a position as clerk in a lottery office, from the gains 

of which he eked out a scanty subsistence for a few months. Dis- 

* Carver also published, A Treatise on the Culture of the Tobacco riant. Lon. 1779, 8vo. 
The N»v Universal Traveller, Lon- 1779, folio. This is not his own production, but he is said 
to have lent his name to it. [Allibone's Diet, of Authors.] 



Till-: CARVER CENTENARY. 1!> 

ease soun eiisucil, however, and he aetually lUeil of waiit* in liOiidoii, 
January 31, 1780, aged 48 years. 

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE rURl'OKTEI) DEED, 

Carver, as we 1)efore mentioned docs not speak m liis work of the 
deed said to liave ]ivq\\ given May 1, 17(57. It was )iot until after 
liis death tliat it was brought to light. Carver had married during 
his sojourn in England (although he had a wife and five daughters in 
Connecticut at the time) and by this second wife had one daughter, 
named Martha. She was raised by Sir Ricliard and Ivady Pearson. 
When slie grew up, slie eloped with, and married a sailor, whose 
name seems to be now unknown. A mercantile firm in London, 
thinking that money could Ije made by securing the title to the al- 
leged grant, secured from the penniless couple, a few days after their 
marriage, a conveyance of the grant to them, for the consideration 
of one tenth the profits. The merchants dispatched an agent named 
Clark to go to the Dakotas, and obtain a new deed, but on the way 
Clark was murdered in New York, and tlie speculation for tlie thnc 
fell through . 

In tlie year 1794, the heirs of Carver's American wife, in consid- 
eration of £50,000, conveyed their interest in the Carver Grant, to 
Edward Houghton, of Vermont. In the year l80fi. Rev. Samuel 
Feters,f who had been a Tory during the Revolutionary war, alleged, 
in a ])Ctition to Congress, that he had also purchased of the heirs of 
Carver, their right to the grant. 

In 1821, Gen. Leavenworth, pursuant to a re(iuest of the Com" 
missioner of the Land Office, enquired of the Dakotas in relation to 
the grant, and reported that the land alleged to be granted " lies on 
the East side of the Mississippi." Tlie Indians do not recognise or 
acknowledge the grant to be valid and they, among others, assign 
the following reasons : 

1. The Sioux of the Plains never owned a foot of land on the 
East side of the Mississippi. * * 

2. The Indians say they have no knowledge of any such Chiefs, 
as those who signed the grant. They say if Ca])t. Carver did ever 
obtain a deed or grant, it was signed by somts foolish young men 



* It wasowing toDr. Lettsoni's account of his aulleiings ami ill rfiiuitcd labors for tlic EiikIisU 
Governnient, that tbe literary fund was established . [AUibone's Diet of Authors. 1 
f See "Collections of tbe Minnesota Historical Society for 18W," p. 28. 



20 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

who were not Chiefs, and who were not authorised to make a grant, 
Amonc the Sioux of the River there are no such names. * 

3. They say the Indians never received anything for the land, 
and tkey have no intention to part with it without a consideration. * * 

4. They have, and ever have had, the possession of the land and 
intend to keep it. * * * * * 

On January 23, 1823, the Committee on Public Lands, reported 
to the Senate on the claim of Carver's heirs, at some length. They 
argue that the purported grant has no binding effect on the United 
States, and give very satisfactory and conclusive reasons therefor, at 
too great length, however, to include in this paper. The prayer of 
the petitioners was therefore not granted. t 

It is certain that Carver's American heirs always supposed, (and 
are said to this day to assert) that they had a good title to the grant 
in question. Some of them have visited Saint Paul in their inves- 
tigations of the subject. Two of these visits are mentioned in history. 

Maj. Stephen H. Long, U. S. A., in his journal of " A Voyage 
in a Six oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony, in 1817," [publislifd 
by the Minnesota Historical Society in i860,] says : 

There sailed also in company with us, two gentlemen from New York, 
by the name of King and Gun, wlio are grandsons of Capt. .1. Carver,*the 
celebrated traveler. Tliey were on their way nortliward, on a visit to the 
Sauteurs, for the purpose of establishing their claims to a tract of land 
granted by those Indians to tlieir grandfatlier. 

After his return to Prairie du Chien, Long writes : 

Last evening Messrs. Gun and King arrived at tlie Prairie from the Falls 
of St. Anthony. Whether they accomplished the object of their trip, viz.: 
to establish their claim to the tract of country ceded by the Indians to 
their grandfather Carver, I had no time to enquire, but presume there is 
no ground for supposing they did, as tliey before told me tliey could tind 
but one Indian Avho had any liuowledge of the transaction, or was in tlie 
least disposed to recognise the grant. That they do not consider the ces- 
sion obligatory upon them is very evident, from their having ceded to the 
United States, through the negotiations of Pike, two parcels of the same 
tract specifiecf in the grant in favor of Carver. 

Miss Harriet E. Bishop, too, in her work " Floral Home ; or First 

Years of Minnesota," speaks thus of the visit of another of Capt. 

Carver's heirs : 

In 1848, Dr. Hartwell Carver visited the region which liad been the 
tlieatre of his grandfatlier's adventures. He came as claimant of the soil — 



* Carver only once in the body of his work mentions the chiefs whose signature and "family 
coat of anus " are appended to the deed. On page 380, speaking of Indian nomenclature he says : 

Thus, the great warrior of the Naudowessies was named Ottahtougoomlisheah, that is the 
Great Father of Snakes; ottah being in English father, tongoora great, and lisheah a snake Au- 
otber chief was called Uonabpawjatin, which means, a swift runner over the mountains. 



THE CARVER CENTENARY. 21 

his claims being predicated on a title to one hundred miles square, ci^led 
to the former by the two head chiefs of the Dakota nation. This coiwey- 
auce of land was claimed to have been ratitied by (leorge III. 

Miss Bisliop states that Dr. Carver was sanguine of o])taining a 
recognition by Congress of the rights of the heirs to compensation 
for the land said to have been ceded to tlieir ancestor. 

Numerous deeds for ]>ortions of the land were made at various 
times by Carver's heirs or their assignees. In 1849, and a few years 
subse<[ueut, when real estate agents throve in the infant city of St. 
Paul, very many of these deeds were received by land dealers here, 
to •' locate." Several of them are among the MSS. in the Library 
of this Society. 

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CAVE. 

After tlie visit of Carver, the cave remained unentered liy the 
white man for nearly half a century- Pike tried to find it in 1800. 
He says : 

Satuuday, 12Tir April. Embarked early : Although my interpreter 
had been frequently up the river, he could not tell me where the cave, 
spoken of by Carver, could be found : we carefully sought for it, but in 
vain. 

Maj. Long, in 1817, was more successful. He says : 
Wednesday, .July 16. Two miles above the village [Little Crow's] on 
the same side of the river, is Carver's Cave. However interesting it may 
have been, it does not possess that character in a very high degree at pres- 
ent. We descended it with lighted candles to its lowest extremity. The 
entrance is very low, and about 8 feet broad, so that a man in order to 
enter it must be completely prostrate. The angle of descent within the 
cave is about 2.5". The flooring is an inclined plane of quick-sand, formed 
of the rock in which the cavern is formed. The distance from its entrance 
to its inner extremity is 24 paces, the width in the broadest part about 9, 
and its greatest height about 7 feet. In shape it resembles a baker's oven. 
The cavern was once iirobal)ly much more extensive. My interpreter in- 
formed me that, since his remembrance, the entrance was not less than 10 
teet high, and its length far greater than at present. 

Maj. Long then visited Fountain Cave, which is thought by some 
to be the real Carver Cave. He thus refutes this theory : 

This cavern, as I was intoruicd by my interpreter, has been discovered 
but a few years ; that the Indians living in its neigliborhood knew nothing 
of it till witliin six years past. That it is not the same as that described 
by Carver is evident, not only from this circumstance, but also from the 
circiuiLStance that instead of a stagnant pool, and only one accessible room 
of a very diflerent form, this cavern has a brook running tlirough it, and 
at least four rooms in succession, one after tlie otiier. Carver's Cave is 
fast tilling up with sand, so tliat no water is now to be found in it, where- 
as this, from the very nature of the place, must be enlarging, as the foun- 
tain will carry along with its current all the sand that falls into it from 
the sides and root of the cavern. 



22 THE CARVER CENTENARY. 

Featheistonhaugh, the Geologist, next visits it in 1835. He says : 

Septemhkr 11. " About 5 v. m. we came up with a bluU" of incoherent 
sand-stone about 180 feet high, like that on the Wisconsin. TJie Indians 
say that there was formerly a large cave Iiere, but that the rock fell in and 
covered it uj). I landed and endeavored to trace some vestige of the cave, 
but in vain, a talus of hundreds of tons of fallen rock covering the entire 
sloi)e." 

Nicollet also visited the cave m 1837. In his report * to Congress, 

he says : 

The second [cave] four miles below the former is that described by 
Carver. Its entrance has been, for more than thirty years, closed by the 
disintegrated debris of the lime stone capping the sand-stone in which it 
is located. On the 8d of July, 1837, with the assistance of Messrs. Camp- 
bell and Quinn, the former an interpreter for the Sioux, tlie latter for the 
Chippewas, I set about clearing tliis entrance, which, by the bye was 
no easy work, for on the 5th we were about abandoning the job, when, 
unexpectedly, we found that we had made an opening into it ; and although 
we had not entirely disencuml)ered it of its rubbish, I saw enough to satisfy 
me of the accuracy of Carver's description. The lake mentioned by him 
is there ; but I could see only a segment of the cave, a portion of the roof 
being too near the surface of the water to enable me to proceed any farther. 
A ChippcAva warrior made a long harangue on the occasion ; throwing 
his knife into the lake, as an ollering to Wakan-Tibi, the spirit of the 
grottoes. * * * On the high grounds above the cave tliere were some 
Indian mounds, to which the Indians belonging to the tribe of M'dewa- 
kantons formerly transported the bones of the deceased members of their 
families. 

Carver appears to have been sanguine that tlie region which he 
traversed, would ultimately become populous and wealthy. This 
belief appears in numerous passages. His prophesy concerning an 
overland route, of trade and commercial travel has already been 
quoted. That Carver certainly Ijelieved that this was to be the 
future course of trade is evident from the fact that after his return 
to England he interested Richard Whitworth, a member of Parlia- 
ment, in the matter, and they found a plan to establish a trading 
post near the head waters of the Missouri and Oregon. The Revo- 
lutionary war prevented any accomplishment of their scheme. Car- 
ver nevertheless assures his readers of the great future of the North 
West. He says : 

To what power or authority this new world will become dependant, after 
it has arisen from its present uncultivated state, time alone can discover. 
But as the seat of Empire from time iumiemorial has been gradually pro- 
gressive towards the west, there is no doubt but that at some future period, 
mi(jhty kiwjdoms wiU etiwrycfroni these wilder nenses, and statdi/ jMldce-s and 
solemn temples, icith yilded spires reachiuf/ the skies, supplant the Indian huts, 
wliose only decorations are tJie barbarous tropldes of their vanquished enemies. 



* Report intended to illustrate a map of the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi 
Biver, made by I. N- Nicollet, Jan. 11, 1845. 



THE CARVER CFNTENARY. 23 

A conturv has passoJ since Carver's visit lierc, and liis ardent- an- 
ticipations are realised. From the wildei-ness have indeed emerged 
"mighty kingdoms," — vigorons, rich, growing states of the North 
\\"est, eacli well termed an " imj^erium in imperio,''' mighty already in 
size and rich in undeveloped resources. In an hundred cities the 
" stately palaces'' and "solemn temples "' with "gilded s})ires " are 
seen, while the Indian race, whose huts stood on their site, are now 
almost " supjilanted "' hy another race. 

This progress from the wilderness to the riidi and populous com- 
monwealth — the incidents of the development and the history of the 
actions in the drama, it is our task to record ; " to gather from still 
living witnesses and preserve for the future annalist, the important 
records of the teeming and romantic past ;" to let nothing escape 
that may show to tutnre generations the form and pressure of our 
own times. 

To this duty let us address ourselves with renewed diligence, and 
while '' toiling in the mines of history, gathering its pure ore," not 
forget to do justice to the memory of the early explorers of this 
region, so prominent among whom was the subject of this centenary 
celel)ration, Jnnathdri Carver. 









v^i ;^i^ -;^ 

^ S :^ 







































>3t 



,^«Trs» j^^r-^r^ -3^;^ 















«.^ 









3^ - 



life 












^:?iJ^, 






d>Tj>>> ^^-> ^ i>-5> 









■> >> >> ^ 


















> 3^s>i3. 



^>:x>>" 






»>^ 


► 3>3>0 


113>>^^fc 


^ ,^ ■«*:> 


LiS^ii 


► :>5>r> 


"^^5 




>"^5?^ 




--— ^^^^^ 


I3k5[2II^ 


i ' > _o.:> ^-T 


]^S~^||^^, 


■ >:>>^'~°' 


''^ "M 


l» 0>l)u>^ 


~iiijr^ 


» :> 2»— 


~1B> ^ 


► >>3>:>~ 


"~2E>_j 


^ :>.v>3"°° 


7^ J 


1^ >-i>o^ 


J2C^ 




"1»^ 


]^ >ft7>'" 


2e>^ 


^^ • ■>ji>':r' 


^_ 


^^^ >]> 7 


33» 


^3^ J >i>s' 


>>-. 


!^^^ )i>5' 


3^t 


3i» ;>>3T~ 


T> 


^^^^ -^^ 


>>.- 


"^^ ■')> 


T> 


~ ^^k iS" 



